Think about the apostle Paul. God called him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and plant churches all around the Roman Empire; but after only a short time, he was arrested and thrown in jail. Prison appeared at first to be a deviation from the main mission, but instead of derailing Paul’s task, it served to be an unexpected opportunity to advance God’s goal. In Philippians 1:12 (NIV), he wrote to new believers about his time in jail: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.”The same is often true along the road of your life. God doesn’t send detours to intentionally disappoint you or to waste your time with unnecessary delays. But unfortunately, when things don’t go as planned, it’s easy to forget to factor in the possibility that the Lord might be carefully guiding even the difficult circumstances we encounter (Jeremiah 29:11). Or that His plan might be a far better and safer course of action than the direction we first choose.